Confirmed: Second Wives Get Bigger Rings

If marriage is now a luxury good, then apparently second marriages are ultralux. According to a study by online jeweler comparejewellery.com, men spend an average of $2,000 more on an engagement ring for their second wife than they do on their first.

The Daily Mail reports that the average cost of a ring more than doubles between first and second marriages: The average first engagement ring in the U.K. costs £821 ($1,320), whereas the second costs around £2,050 ($3,295). The increase from second to third rings shows a similar spike of £950 ($1,525).

When asked about the reasoning behind second-marriage splurges, 48 percent of men said they had more faith in the security of their second relationship than the first. 38 percent admitted they were simply wealthier at the time of their second marriage, and 17 percent said they’d been foiled by the expensive taste of their fiancées —incidentally, it turns out that men spend less time picking out rings for second wives, as nearly half opted to let their brides pick the ring themselves.